Surviving
by Sum1strange009
Summary: Just another planet of the apes romance because there is not enough of them already in the world. :)
1. Chapter 1

1st person P.O.V

I had been on my own for what felt like forever. It took a while for me to realize that it had only been 3 years. After B/N had died, and with the simian flu still raging, I had taken what I needed and headed into the forest. Back then I would see a handful of people every now and again, but those who entered the Redwoods never made it as far as my hut. They were all either infected, old or exposure, starvation and wild animals killed them before they had gone a kilometre. It was almost sad in a pathetic way. My lip curled. My species was so weak. The reason for our extinction was our own fault anyway. Scientists try to play god-humanity is wiped out. Sad. Pathetic. Slightly annoying. I shook my head at my thoughts. I hadn't always been this harsh or cynical. Once I had been a normal girl just like every other…normal girl out there. Well maybe not normal but I was a girl, albeit a tomboyish one. My whole family had despaired of me. Well all except for my dad. He hardly knew what was going on in front of his face let alone anywhere else. Alzheimer's. at first us kids joked about his memory loss calling him 'spaced out'. That was before he was diagnosed. He died a year before the outbreak. I was 12 at the time. It hit us all hard, especially mum. The outbreak wiped out the rest of my family. They all got sick at around the same time. I was the only one immune. Me. The most worthless one of the family. If anyone deserved to die it was me. Not them.

It took a moment for me to realise I was crying. The salty tears rolling down my cheeks were such a foreign feeling. I hadn't cried since that day, I realised. I went to wipe them away, angry at being so weak but left them. They deserved to be cried over, to be missed, even if it was just by someone like me. I continued with my reminiscing.

During the time I looked after my family I was waiting for them to hate me, to scream 'why you?'. I almost wished they would. I doubt I ever crossed their mind. At first they were worried for me, but as It became clear that I wasn't going to get sick, they began to smile when I entered their rooms. They talked with me, joked and laughed, even when their lungs were collapsing from the effort. They told me to leave, said there was nothing left for me here. I never did. My brother's last words were given as he tried to cheer me up.

"Look up at the stars Y/N. They look so beautiful. Dad's soul is up there. So is Mum's and B/N and S/N. Mine will be up there soon too." A smile flickered over his haggard face at that. He looked up at me and grabbed my hand, his words crystal clear, even as his voice faded. "Don't cry when we're gone. Find somewhere to live, something to live for. Start a family. Live your life…" his voice trailed off and I leaned closer to catch his last words. "…like we never could" His hand clutched mine with a strength that amazed me given his weakened state. He looked up at me and a smile flicked across his face one last time. "Don't die" he breathed. His eyes flickered close and his hand fell from mine. Then I disregarded what he had just said, shoved my face in my hands, curled up into a fetal position and bawled my eyes out. Afterwards I swore it would be the last time.

I smiled and wiped my eyes, muttering a silent 'sorry' in my head. I had done what he said. I had found somewhere to live, and I hadn't died. I had done what he said, I tried to convince myself. I squeezed my eyes shut. No I hadn't. He had told me to find something to live for, to start a family…to live my life like they never had or could. I smiled wryly at that. "well maybe I had done that" I thought, looking round at the redwoods and smiling to myself as I imagined them living as I did. The thing was, I couldn't start a family. I wasn't even sure if anyone else had survived and…my eyes squeezed shut again, trying to hold back the tears that, once again, threatened to spill down my face. I had nothing to live for. That had died with him.

It took me a moment for me to come back to my surroundings. A thundering roar filled my ears and I was damp from head to toe. I looked down over the waterfall as I remembered why I had come here. In my mind it was so deceptively easy. I could already imagine what it would be like to fall into the icy depths, the thundering roar in my ears fading to silence, a peaceful feeling enveloping me as the wind and water whipped past my face, tangling my hair into a mask, shielding my face from death…"Don't die" The words startled me from my reverie, seeming to come from nowhere. They felt less like a memory and more like my brother was right there, repeating them into my ear. "Don't die" I squeezed my eyes shut and stepped back from the edge. I couldn't end my life like this, not after what he had said. I had to live my life. For them. I owed them as much. Determined now, I turned towards the tree-line, pulling my hoodie over my head, obscuring my features. As I headed back towards the trees, a new word sounded in my head. "Survive" I smiled slightly.

"Don't worry" I muttered "I will"


	2. Chapter 2

2nd person P.O.V.

You had been hunting for ages. It had been a little past dawn when you set out and now the shadows were beginning to lengthen again. You had been so determined to catch something that you had ignored all the rules you had put in place for yourself and had ventured further into the forest than you had ever gone before. Still you had found nothing. You weren't even 100% sure which way you needed to go to get back to your hut. You smiled at the irony. Just when you had decided to survive it seemed you would die, alone in the forest with night falling and no idea where you were or how to get back. Pathetic. A noise in the bushes pulled you from your thoughts. For a second your heart leapt, thinking it was a deer or something just as edible but a second later you realised your mistake. The noises were too subtle, too stealthy to be made by a deer. This sounded like something dangerous, something…predatory. As you watched, a glint of gold fur caught your attention. Cougar. For a moment your heart froze until you realised it was moving away from you. You quickly jumped into the nearest tree, scaling it with a silent ease born of long practise. From your vantage point you could see the cougar much more clearly. It was obvious it was hunting something and, without thinking, you began to follow it. If it were hunting elk, there would be more. You would eat well tonight. So caught up in your thoughts as you were, it took you a moment to realise the cougar had stopped. You only had to look past it to see why. The clearing just in front of where the cougar crouched was filled with monkeys. No, not monkeys, apes. But they didn't look like ordinary apes. Their fur was painted with a sort or white paste and they held crudely made spears. You watched in fascination as they communicated with each other using a series of grunts, whoops and hand gestures. The atmosphere seemed almost jovial. In a second you realised why. One of the apes reached down and hefted something onto its shoulders. An elk. This was a hunting party.

The apes began to move out and your attention suddenly snapped back to the cougar. Its haunches were up and it began to knead the ground with its paws. A sure sign it was about to pounce. You quickly found its target. An ape was standing close to the tree-line, his back to you and the cougar. Without realising it, your hand went to your back, unslinging your bow and knocking an arrow on the string. The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. You watched as the cougar leapt, silently marvelling at its power and grace. Its face was set in a ferocious snarl, claws unsheathed as it zeroed in on its target. You heard the panicked shrieks of the other apes as they realised what was happening. You saw the targeted ape stiffen suddenly, turning slightly to watch as his death approached. You felt rather than saw your arrow leave your bow and watched as it curled in an arc, zeroing in on your own target. There was a solid thock as it met flesh and the cougar let out a roar, its momentum sending its body crashing into the ape, its face frozen in an eternal snarl, exposed claws now harmless in death. For a second, the ape beneath it was still, as if it couldn't believe it was still alive. As the rest of the apes swarmed around it, you began to back away, trying to place the tree trunk between yourself and the clearing before any of the apes spotted you. It seemed you weren't quick enough as you felt eyes on you and looked up to see a scarred ape glaring at you from a tree not far from yours. Forcing yourself to be calm, you began to back away and slowly swing yourself through the trees. Once you had gone about 100 meters you stopped and peered behind you. None of them had followed. You let out a sigh of relief but quickly froze as you heard urgent hooting behind you. The scarred one must have alerted the others. "Damn" you muttered, beginning to swing in earnest. You could hear the apes behind you and you forced yourself on to greater speeds. Tiny branches whipped your face, leaving shallow cuts on any piece of exposed skin. You ignored the ache in your arms, pushing yourself to go faster but you could hear the apes getting closer and see dark shapes in your peripheral vision. You knew you had lost, there was no way you could outswing an ape, but you still pushed on. You swung yourself out over a wide gap into the next tree when you realised your mistake. Two apes are already waiting for you. You tried to scramble past them, but one reached out, pulling you to his chest, his arm around you like a steel band. You growled angrily and tried to struggle but it was pointless. Clutching you with one arm, the ape began to swing into the next tree. You frowned, this would never work. The ape holding you seemed to agree and suddenly you felt yourself being flung through the air. Your heart leapt to your throat and for a dizzying moment you thought he had just hurled you to the ground, then, with a jolt, you found yourself in the arms of another ape. Unfortunately, you were only there for a second before you found yourself flying through the air again. The wild race through the treetops seemed to go on forever and when you were finally placed on the ground, you fell over, too dizzy to stand properly. You stayed crouched on the ground for a while, shaking your head and blinking, trying to get your eyes to refocus.

Finally you looked up. To your surprise it seemed you hadn't been taken back to the clearing. Instead, you were currently in the middle of what seemed to be the ape's home. Forgetting you were surrounded by more than 100 apes whose intentions were, as of yet, about as clear as mud, you pushed yourself off the ground and looked around you in awe. The ape village was in the middle of a clearing with sharpened stakes around the outside, acting as a fence. There was a large stone in the middle of the clearing with a strange symbol carved into it. It almost looked like a star with a circle round it. Across to one side was a large, vertical, flat rock that looked, and obviously served, as a chalkboard, as, to your amazement, you could make out words written on it. However, the one thing that caught your attention was the houses. Each one was attached to the top of a tree with logs sticking out down the length of it to act as stairs. Finally, you realised the apes had been staring at you as you gawked at their home. You dropped your eyes quickly, wondering what they wanted with you. Suddenly the apes in front of you moved to the side, parting to make way for an ape you could only assume was the leader. He was tall for a chimp and walked upright in a surprisingly human manner. You could almost feel the power radiating off him. He stopped just in front of you and glared down at you, brows furrowed, lips pressed tight. He breathed heavily through his nose then opened his mouth and spoke.

"Why. You. Here?" your eyes widened in amazement and your mouth dropped open. In the back of your mind you knew you shouldn't be so surprised. If these apes were smart enough to build a village, hunt elk with spears and write words, they were probably smart enough to speak as well. However, although you could acknowledge the reasoning, your brain seemed to have gone into shock at hearing something you had only ever regarded as an animal, speak. To you. Finally your brain unfroze, and his words sunk into your conscience and with it a sudden anger. He wanted to know why you were here. After you had just saved one of his apes and been thrown around like unwanted baggage for it all the way here. You glared up at him, fire sparking in your eyes.

"Well I'm not really sure" you said angrily " Maybe it has something to do with the fact I saved one of your apes and the rest of them decided to thank me by using me as a human pass ball" you weren't sure if any of them would understand the references or the sarcasm but you hoped they could see your anger. Because you were angry. Very angry. The leader looked at you, slightly surprised at your outburst but you could've sworn you saw his mouth twitch in a smile before he turned away. To your surprise he used sign language to communicate with the other apes. You were slightly rusty so It took you a while to decode what he had said.

"Is this true?" You bristled slightly at his distrust but watched as one of the apes stepped forward. You recognised him as the one you had saved from the cougar.

"It is true, Caesar" he signed "None of us saw the cougar until it was too late" he looked at you with something close to gratitude in his eyes "She shot the cougar with her bow and arrow. It was dead before it touched me" the ape leader, Caesar, looked back at you, a new expression in his eyes.

"and then?" he signed.

"Koba called the apes to get her. She can swing almost as well as us and she led them on for a while before they caught her" he signed back, huffing a little in what you assumed was the equivalent of a laugh. Caesar looked at you again, something close to amusement in his eyes. He watched you thoughtfully for a moment.

"she will stay here for now, until we know what her intentions are" he signed finally "she will stay with Koba as he seemed so ready to bring her in" from the crowd came a growl of protest. Caesar turned towards the noise. You couldn't see who he was looking at, but he seemed to be having a stare down with another ape. It seemed he won as he finally turned away and walked off, the crowd dispersing as he went. Finally you found yourself face to face with Scarface. He glared at you for a while then turned and walked off, turning his head as If he expected you to follow. You pressed down a fission of fear as you followed him through the village. Scarface was Koba.

Finally Koba stopped in front of a large house. He looked at you then began to climb the ladder, looking down at you almost mockingly as if daring you to come up. You glared back at him and began to climb. You weren't sure if he thought you should be scared of the climb or him, but you were determined not to show fear of either. You quickly caught up to him and he glanced at you, his scowl slipping into something close to surprise and, dare you say it, a touch of respect. Then he turned away and you could no longer see his face. Entering the hut he spoke for the first time. "Human take nest, Koba take floor" he said. You glanced at him in surprise, then shook your head.

"The nest is yours" you said "I'll take the floor" Koba's scowl deepened.

"Human too fragile for floor. Koba tough, human not. Human take nest" You crossed your arms, tilting your chin up stubbornly.

"No" you said. Koba looked at you and an unreadable expression crossed his face. Then his eyes hardened, and he was in front of you. Before you knew what was happening, his arms were around you and you were dumped unceremoniously into the nest. His head peered over the side, looking down at you and you swore you detected a smugness in his eyes.

"Human. Nest" he said. You looked up at him, wincing slightly.

"Note taken" you replied, voice strangled. He grunted and as he moved off you were sure you saw a smile on his face and heard a huff of laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

1st Person P.O.V

I was in the forest. How I had gotten there I had no idea. I looked around. I was in the clearing where I had first seen the apes. It was empty. There was a noise in the bushes behind me and I spun round to face them. There was nothing. I backed away from them, remembering what had happened last time I was here. Suddenly I heard a shriek behind me. Spinning around I saw the ape I had saved lying on the ground in the centre of the clearing. Blood stained the grass beneath him in a widening pool. I gasped and rushed over, kneeling beside him. He looked up at me with frightened eyes. "you didn't save me" he whispered, eyes accusing. Tears filled my own eyes as I replied.

"I couldn't save you" I choked out. The ape began to cough, and blood rolled down his chin. He looked up at me again and suddenly I was looking into the eyes of my brother. He smiled sadly.

"I know you couldn't. no one could've" he said. I reached out my hand but couldn't seem to touch him. His eyes narrowed slightly. "you broke your promise" he said. He didn't sound angry, just sad and resigned. I looked at him in confusion. "you died" he said. I frowned at him

"no I didn-"my words trailed off as I looked down at myself. My top was shredded and drenched in blood. I heard a growl behind me and looked round just in time to see the cougars gaping mouth envelop my head and crunch down. There was a blackness and then I was falling. Silence. Water hit my skin. Wind whipped past my head, tangling my hair around my face. "I died" I thought I disbelief. I'd broken my promise. "I'm sorry" I whimpered.

2nd Person P.O.V

You woke with a jolt. You were warm, safe. Something strong and reassuring enveloped you. "bad dreams gone?" asked a voice in your ear. You turned your head to look. Koba's scarred face looked back at you. It really wasn't something that should make you feel better after a bad dream but surprisingly it did.

"y-yes" you replied shakily. "thank you" Koba grunted, shifting to pull you tighter against him. After a while you spoke again, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "what happened? Did you get lonely or did you want your nest back?" you asked, smiling slightly. You expected him to get angry or come back with a crushing reply, so you were vaguely surprised when he simply said:

"Koba know what it like to have bad dreams" you turned your head to look at him but when he refused to elaborate, you let it drop back against his chest. Although you would never admit it, it was a nice feeling to be wrapped in someone's arms. Even if it was just a scarred ape who was so unpredictable you weren't sure if he would suddenly kiss you or rip your jugular out. Thankfully, he did neither and the warmth of his body lulled you back to sleep. As you drifted off you heard his deep voice whisper in your ear "sleep now, Koba here"

When you woke, daylight was streaming into the hut through cracks in the walls. You peered through half open lids, trying to remember where you were. Memories of last night came back. The dream. Koba. You looked over your shoulder, but the nest was empty. You were slightly relieved. Waking up next to him would have felt to familiar. You groaned as you got to your feet. You had no idea what you were supposed to do so you decide it would be a good time to check out the ape village. As you climbed down the winding staircase, you were struck once again by the ingenuity of the ape's infrastructure. A few apes looked up at you as you passed them, but most were too busy to spare you more than a cursory glance. As you walked through the village you were astounded by the way they lived. Here and there there were apes menacing spears but more of them seemed to be skinning the elk, stretching out the skins for tanning and preparing the meat for eating. Some had beads woven into their hair and more delicate feature. You guessed these were the females. Walking further took you to the chalkboard and you were amazed to see that it was a school. There were about ten small apes squatting round a large male orangutan as he pointed to the words on the board and taught them sign language. You were so caught up in the lesson that you didn't notice a shadow fall over you, so when you looked up to see a large gorilla looming over you, it took all your self-control not to yell in fright. "Is there a problem?" you asked him calmly, once you had gotten yourself under control. He did nothing, choosing instead to glower down at you. You tried again "You know, I'm beginning to think that ape I saved wasn't very popular from the reception I'm getting" you said "unless you all just enjoy being dicks for fun" the gorilla continued to do nothing, and you began to get angry. The apes around you had stopped to watch and you knew that didn't bode well for you. "yeah okay look. As much fun as its been having you stand over me intimidatingly I want to get over there..." you said pointing at a spot behind him "and you're standing here" you said pointing at his feet. "so if you could just move, I could disappear from sight and everyone will be happy" still the gorilla did nothing and you scowled. "Fine" you said, trying to step past him. A furry hand shot out, grabbing your arm and you gasped in surprise. The gorilla pulled you back to face him and finally he spoke.

"Caesar. Want. Speak. Human" he said. You gave him you best death-glare. He remained stoically unimpressed, so you dropped it.

"Why didn't you just say so?" you sighed, shrugging.


	4. Chapter 4

The entrance to Caesars hut was dark and you hesitated in the doorway before pulling yourself together and walking in with as much confidence as you could muster. As your eyes adjusted to the gloom you could see Caesar kneeling beside his nest, placing something into it gently. "Sit" he said without turning. Glancing round the room, you could see a few logs scattered around. Choosing one, you sat down. Caesar didn't speak for a while and you began to fidget restlessly. Finally he spoke, and you jumped at the sudden noise. "Why you kill cougar?" he asked. You frowned at him.

"It was about to kill one of your apes. Can't you just be thankful instead of questioning my intentions?" you said with some heat. At this, Caesar finally turned to face you.

"Am thankful" he said "Caesar Rocket's friend. But human not. Why human save him?" This question caught you off guard and you looked at him for a few seconds.

"I dunno" you said finally "I didn't really think, just shot" At this, something unreadable flickered across his face, then it was gone, and his features curled up into a snarl.

"Human lies!" he yelled, and you flinched away from the sudden noise, scrambling to your feet as he stalked towards you. The anger that was evident on his face was terrifying and it was hard for you to conceal your fear. Suddenly you stumbled as you hit the side of the hut and in a flash, Caesar was standing over you, hand clenched loosely around the back of your neck, face millimetres from your own. "Why. Human. Save. Ape?" he asked again, each word spoken with terrifying clarity.

"I don't know" you said again, urgently "I-"

"Why?!" he yelled again, and you flinched away from him. His almost human eyes were staring into yours with a burning intensity and ,you swore, a touch of sadness. He lowered his face down beside your ear and you shivered as you felt his warm breath on your neck, envisioning his sharp canines just inches from your jugular. "why save Rocket?" he breathed and suddenly you knew why you had done it. You pressed your lips together, not wanting to admit the truth to yourself, but Caesar persisted. "why?" he hissed, teeth grazing your neck slightly, whether accidental or on purpose you weren't sure. Your breathing grew ragged but still you refused to answer. Caesar growled low in his throat, the sound vibrating against your neck. His hand curled tighter around your neck and he pressed his body closer, his wiry fur brushing against your exposed skin. "Tell me" he said, his voice deep. His teeth nipped against the skin of your neck and you gasped in surprise. His mouth dragged up to you ear. "tell me before I do something I may or may not regret" you shivered slightly, and you weren't completely sure if it was in fear. His mouth nuzzled your ear and your breath hitched. He huffed slightly at your reaction and you sighed, defeated.

"I saved him because I cared" you said finally, you voice broken "because for the first time in 3 years I CARED what would happen if I did nothing. Because there was something I COULD do. Someone I COULD save" Caesar had lifted his face from your neck to watch you and you lifted your head to look up at him. Tears streamed down your face and you saw sadness in his eyes, and longing. You lifted your chin slightly "so I, a human, saved an ape" Caesars eyes flickered close and he lowered his head to yours. He stayed like that for a while.

"Human truth" he said finally. He lifted his head from yours, looking down at you with an unfathomable expression in his green eyes. He blinked and looked away, turning his head so you couldn't see his face anymore. His hand uncurled from the back of your neck and he moved away from you. It was only when he moved away that you were suddenly aware of how close he had been, and you shivered as the warmth from his body left you. He noticed the movement, his eyes darkening as he watched you, but once again he shook his head and looked away, tamping down whatever compulsion you awoke in him. "am sorry" he said finally "for…" You could see he was having trouble expressing what he needed to say so you spoke up.

"You can use sign language' you said, "I can understand" He looked up at you in surprise and some relief. Immediately his hands began to move, and you struggled to keep up with him.

"I apologize for my actions towards you before. I simply needed to know what your intentions were towards apes. I am sorry for the methods I used to find that out"

"its fine" you said "I can understand your concern. Human nature has never been something you should trust" He looked at you in surprise.

"You don't trust your own species?" he signed carefully. You laughed sarcastically.

"I trusted them" you said, "Look where it's got me" He frowned slightly.

"but there are some humans you still trust, some you have feelings for other than hate?" he signed, confused.

"yes, there were" you said bitterly "but do you see them anywhere?" Caesar sighed.

"I know what it's like to lose someone you love as well" he said, softly.

"I'm sure you do" you snarked "Except your species seems to be thriving while all of us die" You immediately regretted your words when his face hardened, and he took a step towards you. A fission of fear shot through you as you backed away from him. This time the anger on his face was real. It was hard, cold and utterly terrifying. With a sense of déjà vu, you once again found yourself pressed hard against the wall of the hut. Caesar loomed over you.

"You think we wanted this?" he growled, his eyes dark and terrifying "You think we wanted to become what we are now? Not human, not animal but somewhere in between" he dropped his head so that your eyes were level. "This is the work of humans. You have only yourself to blame"


End file.
